The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has informed the Karnataka High Court that no coercive steps will be taken against T. Veena, daughter of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and director of Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, against whom it has launched an investigation.
Additional Solicitor General Arvind Kamath, who appeared for the Central government, said an investigation by the SFIO was launched as serious frauds were detected in the deals involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd. (CMRL). The company was found involved in several shady financial deals, he contended.
Ms. Veena had approached the court against the SFIO probe, which covered the financial deals among her company Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited, and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation.
No arrest plans
The SFIO informed the Single Judge, Justice M. Nagaprasanna, that it had only sought some documents from Ms. Veena and had no plans to arrest her.
Aravind Datar, counsel for Ms. Veena, contended that the investigation launched against Exalogic under Section 212 of the Companies Act would not stand as the Central government had earlier opened an investigation under Section 210 of the Act. No two parallel investigations can happen in a case, he contended.
‘No public interest’
He argued that no public interest was involved in the SFIO investigation as it pertained to a deal of ₹1.72 crore between Exalogic and Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited. The Central government needs to form an opinion following the inquiry under Section 210. However, the government launched the investigation under Section 212 when the probe under Section 210 was not completed, he argued.
The counsel contended that Ms. Veena was not opposed to the probe under Section 210 and was not demanding a stay on the probe. Terming Section 212 as a draconian piece of legislation, the counsel said she would not oppose it if some serious frauds were unearthed during the first probe.
The Additional Solicitor General argued that the SFIO was the ideal agency to probe such cases as it was capable of seamless access to documents and information. The Central government had formed an opinion on the fraud involved in the deals, which led to the ordering of the SFIO probe. The CMRL had spent ₹135 crore on prominent politicians and others in Kerala and paid ₹1.72 crore for Exalogic as consultancy fee. However, no service was found offered by the IT company, he argued.
Mr. Kamat argued that once an investigation by the SFIO was launched, earlier investigations by all the agencies would stand cancelled and all documents gathered by the other agencies need to be handed over to it.
The court has reserved the case for orders.
Published - February 12, 2024 08:51 pm IST
